“The brute lesson of May is that Labour cannot get there without first winning back significant numbers of Tory voters. Mr Corbyn will not do that. Those searching for an election winner must look elsewhere…

Liz Kendall has shown courage in telling Labour audiences what they don’t want to hear about the need to win Tory votes, but she lacks experience, and too often appears to be reopening the Blair playbook. Andy Burnham is personable and has passion, but has zig-zagged too often in this campaign to be seen as a leader.

Yvette Cooper is more steadfast, consistently challenging George Osborne on economic terrain… The right leader is the person who can bring both Jeremy Corbyn and Liz Kendall together in one big, progressive tent, offering enough moral common ground to transcend deep disagreements on policy. It is a formidably difficult task, but there are very many in Britain who desperately need someone to pull it off. The person best placed to do that is Yvette Cooper.”